They are not a god or some sort of deity. They are a search engine--that's all.

And even though I've already said it in several different articles, I'm going to say it again. All of that money you're spending on search engine optimization, so that you can play in Google's sandbox is going to be all for naught.

Because other websites that haven't done any search engine optimization whatsoever are already starting to rank ahead of you in Google's results pages.

Yet, you keep spending your money, and beating your brains out trying to figure out Google's algorithms. And just when you think you've got it figured out, Google decides to take its ball and go home. Zombies, wake up! You're playing a game you can't win!

Didn't November 16, 2003 teach you anything? It's never wise to put all of your eggs into one search engine basket. I mean, forget about "Florida Update." What if by some strange chance, Google goes offline for a day--for a week?

Think it can't happen? Think again. Nobody thought last summers crippling east coast blackout could ever happen either, but it did happen, and it turned about to be biggest blackout in recent U.S. history.

Nothing and no one is infallible. So, zombies, wake up and do yourself a favor. Do smart thing, and develop other ways to promote your website.

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: dean@lets-make-money.net

Visit his website at: http://www.lets-make-money.net

With WebPosition 3, they've introduced a "Generic Search Engine," which I'm particularly pleased about. Over last few years, many search engine marketers no longer create engine specific pages, so having a generic choice in Page Critic will be extremely helpful.

Tip to make Page Critic easier to use: When you first begin using Page Critic, you may find it easier to focus on Page Averages section only. Click on that tab at top of Page Critic results. Go through each of suggestions.

But, if you can't make change or if it doesn't work for you, move on. Don't spend hours stressing over it. If you want to work with other sections of Page Critic after you get used to program, you can certainly do so. But by cutting down on amount of information you're focusing on in beginning, you may feel it's not as overwhelming.

Mission Manager . . .

I'm very impressed with this new addition to WebPosition! But first, let me explain what "missions" are.

Every time you work on a project in WebPosition, you're creating a "mission." For example, when you run a ranking report on a particular domain, you're running a Reporter "mission" on that domain.

When you run a page through Page Critic, you're running a Page Critic "mission" on that page.

Mission Manager lets you manage those missions from one central location. I can see where this area will be particularly handy for those people who manage several domains. You can see at a glance which missions are scheduled to be run and at what times.

WebTrends Analytics . . .

This one area of WebPosition is a little confusing, mainly because WebTrends has many different software and Web-based solutions.

However, please don't let choices stop you from trying WebTrends. Analyzing traffic to your site is a crucial "next step" to success for your online business, and WebTrends has always been a leader in log analysis solutions.

In beginning, why not try WebTrends On Demand, which is a Web-based service where you're given a small amount of code to cut and paste to bottom of each of your Web pages. When you want to check your log files, you can log into their Web site. It's an easy-to-use, cost effective solution that you'll certainly want to consider. (Trial version: http://www.netiq.com/webtrends/products/webtrends/trial.asp)

Cost Remains Same . . .

One thing that has really impressed me is that WebPosition has kept cost of this new version same, though they certainly could have justified a price increase. Plus, if you have a current version of WebPosition, you can upgrade at a 50% discount. Very fair! (Trial version: http://www.webposition.com/order/trial.asp)

In Conclusion . . .

WebPosition Gold 3 (http://www.webposition.com) has once again proven to be leader in search engine marketing software. This exciting new software program deserves a long look by anyone in SEO industry.